Meet Cig Neutron

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cig Neutron.

Hi Cig, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up strange and misunderstood in a small Indiana town full of small minds. What I now understand is my inherent queerness was a lightning rod for small-town hate and intolerance. Looking back on my life it makes sense that I would gravitate and relate to the other, the outsider, the monster. I spent most of my time disassociating into a sketchbook. Scribbling out creatures and things that lurk in the shadows. Halloween was my favorite time of year. I felt so at home in the ambiance of a Halloween store. The smell of latex, the endless walls of grotesque masks, I was in my element. It was my goal to live in this space year-round. Being an avid horror fan, when I learned it was someone’s job to create the creatures in films, I knew then and there that monster-making was my calling. Soon as I graduated high school, I went to the Tom Savini Makeup FX school in Pennsylvania. There I learned the craft of monster-making and the many different skills it takes to breathe life into creatures. Now my creations weren’t limited to a page.

Immediately after graduating from makeup school, I drove straight to Los Angeles all alone. I’d never been there before, I didn’t know anyone, I didn’t know where I was gonna live. I was just barreling down the highway into the unknown, chasing down my dreams of monster-making. The first job I landed in LA was working at Quantum Creations on Tron Legacy. From there I bounced around shops and worked on a few big-budget films. Suckerpunch, Real Steel. Working on major motion pictures was really cool but I just felt like I was a cog in the machine. You don’t get to have a lot of creative input on big-budget projects. It was around that time that I met my now-wife Rannie. She is a photographer and we decided to make our own ridiculous coffee table Photography book called Bizarro Au Go Go. I had never felt so creatively alive so I left the big-budget films to pursue my personal projects.

Season 7 of Syfy’s Faceoff came around and seeing a good opportunity to reach a new audience I auditioned. I was cast and made it to the finals (spoiler alert) but didn’t win. Then season 11 rolled around and they had me back for an All star season which (spoiler alert) I won. The success only exacerbated my growing problem with alcohol and I fell into a very abusive relationship with the substance. That is until my wife and I went to New Orleans and were possessed by spirits that ultimately helped us to get sober and completely change the trajectory of our lives in the most positive way. (Lol, it sounds absurd but it absolutely happened. Since then I’ve been creating with my wife Rannie, We have a Patreon where we post a lot of the intimate goings on in our lives. Also, a youtube where we make a wide variety of videos from comedy to spirituality. I’m currently trying to recount our paranormal New Orleans experience in a docuseries I call Black Tea and Bourbon. It’s a long story (which we are still living) but two episodes have been released on youtube so far. I have a podcast Cig Neutron’s Spewtron that has a wide range of episodes from absurd to socially important like interviewing sex workers to destigmatize and rehumanize people or interviewing Native Americans about their experience and amplifying their voices to spread awareness about the issues they face today.

I now reside in Westchester. I regularly live stream my art. In addition to the many creative things I do, I’m still making monsters for any project that comes my way. Currently, we are gearing up for a crowdfunding endeavor to turn Bizarro Au Go Go into an anthology show and bring our irreverent characters to screens everywhere.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I would say that Alcoholism was my biggest struggle along the way. It’s one of the hardest things I have ever had to overcome. It’s not as simple as “quit drinking”. Once you are able to find sobriety, on top of that, you have to deal with the social backlash and loss of friends who still vibe on the drink. But if you maintain sobriety for long enough, it allows you to see all the parts of yourself that were broken. In my clarity, I’ve been able to sift through the wreckage of my being and put myself back together in the most delightful, genuine way. I was able to finally face the trauma of my past to finally understand my queerness and realize I’m a pansexual, gender full individual. Coming out was the next major hurdle I had to overcome. I had no idea that sharing my genuine self would be so offensive and repulsive to so many. I lost close friends and family. So many people don’t talk to anymore and I lost over 40 thousand followers on social media. It was a pretty major blow to my already fragile and vulnerable psyche. Now that I’ve had time to heal and process all that I’m back to creating with a passion and inspiration I haven’t felt in years.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I do so many creative things that it’s really hard to pick just one. I’d say I’m a creator through and through. I compose music, I write, direct, podcast, voice act, design games, and the list goes on and on. I’d say I’m most known for my special makeup fx and creature work because of the show Faceoff. If I had to pick one thing I’m most proud of, (it’s so hard) probably the soundtrack for Black Tea and Bourbon. I think conceptually and tonally that is one of the most powerful things I’ve done because it really encapsulates in music how I felt at that time in my life. I’ve never been sure where I fit in, and I think that sets me apart.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Know thyself. It’s one of the most simple yet profound bits of occult wisdom I have come to understand.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rancig.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/cigneutron
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cigneutronofficial
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/cigneutron
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/rancig
• Other: https://patreon.com/rancig